Tuesday November 2 7:46 AM ET
Outrage Over Fox-Hunting Prince
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's royal heir Prince Charles has provoked outrage from anti-bloodsports activists and politicians in the ruling Labor Party for taking his son Prince William out for a day's foxhunting at the weekend.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has pledged to ban hunting with hounds on grounds of cruelty but Charles and his lover Camilla Parker Bowles turn out regularly during the season at the country's smarter hunts.
While William, 17, has been hunting before, anti-hunt groups were angered that Charles chose to take him out with the Beaufort hunt Saturday at a time when the issue is becoming increasingly controversial.
Hunt supporters say 16,000 country jobs will be lost if the centuries-old pastime of foxhunting is banned. They accuse the government of knowing little about their sport.
Despite the presence of elevated figures such as Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth's eldest son, on the hunting field, supporters say opposition is based on misplaced class envy.
class envy.